


Not So Bitter Enemies

by New_Elysia



Category: The Chronicles Of Vladimir Tod - Heather Brewer
Genre: Forgiveness, Friendship, Funeral, Gen, floral wreath, vampire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 09:15:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7796023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/New_Elysia/pseuds/New_Elysia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vlad attends D’Ablo’s funeral pyre without the knowledge of his uncle, drudge, aunt, or mentor. With him, he brings a wreath of flowers to convey a message to the deceased vampire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not So Bitter Enemies

The bell above the door let out a loud chime, signaling that someone had just entered the flower shop. It wasn’t much of a special place, in fact it was rather ordinary by most standards. Small but thriving in the downtown district of Stokerton, this shop mostly catered to those looking for something simple. The man behind the counter placed his book to the side and focused his site on the newest customer. A young man, probably only in his teens, with black hair that covered his left eye slightly, eyes of onyx black and pale skin. He was dressed in a simple black button up shirt that was tucked into black pants. The teen gave the man a warm, but sad, smile at the man “I’m here to pick up an order” he said, the man nodded “name?” the boy placed a hand on the counter “Vladimir Tod” the man nodded and turned. “I thought I recognized your voice, you’re the young man who called in a special order.” Vlad just nodded and watched as the man walked from behind the counter and into a small room.

Within a minute, he returned with a small box “a floral wreath of White roses, white lilies, and a mix of zinnias with a black bow?” Vlad nodded, the man returned to the counter “from your attire, I take it, this is for a funeral?” the Halfling smiled “yes, someone I knew passed away.” Vlad fought back tears, tears that most would argue that he shouldn’t be shedding. “His funeral is tonight, and I want to leave something at the ceremony. Something that conveys that I forgive him for everything that happened these past few years.” Vlad said, he placed the money on the counter and took the box from the store owner. The man gave the boy a small smile, Vlad smiled back when he caught the slight glimpse of black ink on the inside of one of the man’s wrists. Vlad opened the box and checked the arrangement, it looked perfect, better than expected. Vlad smiled at the perfectly tied black bow “it looks wonderful, thank you.” Vlad said, as the teen turned to leave he caught a glimpse of dark red roses. “Something wrong?” the man asked, Vlad shook his head “no, no everything’s find.” Vlad said “these just look like the roses my dad always used to get my mom when I was little.” Vlad said, memories flooding back into his mind of a time long gone. With a sigh and a heavy heart, the Halfling left the flower shop.

* * *

 

 

Leaves softly crunched under foot as the Halfling walked the darkened trail. Vampire funerals were held far outside of cities for good reason, it isn’t exactly easy to explain why one would build an altar of wood, set it on fire, and then place a body on top for the sun to dispose of. As Vlad walked, the sounds of voices started to break through the trees, Vlad could also make out soft bits of laughter. Vlad stopped when he started to smell smoke and sense other vampires. With a deep breath, he turned the corner of the path, though branches blocked his sight for the most part, Vlad could make out the flickering bright fire of D’Ablo’s funeral pyre. Vlad took in a deep, calming breath and locked up his mind.

A few heads turned to see a boy in black enter the clearing, in his hands, he held a wreath of flowers. It was mostly white, though a few specks of color and a black ribbon broke the plain look of the white surface. Vlad shyly stepped forward, knowing that plenty of the vampires in the clearing blamed him for the death of their council president. The teen knew that they might decide to take vengeance on D’Ablo’s suspected murder, regardless on if they had proof or not. Vlad swallowed, still nervous “what are you doing here?” a man with dark brown hair and light blue eyes approached Vlad. “I came for the same reason everyone else did, to honor and say goodbye to D’Ablo.” Vlad said, the vampire then looked to the wreath of flowers “it is not normally customary to bring flowers to a vampire’s funeral, young one.” A female voice said, Vlad turned his head to see a woman with indigo hair approach them. She gave the male a glanced, he narrowed his eyes. Vlad could tell they were having a telepathic conversation, the man then sighed. His attention turning back to the funeral. Vlad then looked at the woman “while you’re here, stay with me, it will reduce your chances of being torn limb from limb.” She smiled. Vlad just nodded and walked closer to the other vampires.

The woman followed “you are Vladimir Tod, correct?” she asked, Vlad nodded “I thought so” Vlad stopped near the pyre “you have a lot of guts coming here, most of these vampire think you are responsible for D’Ablo’s death.” Vlad swallowed “I know, a human could see that.” Vlad mumbled and looked back down at the wreath, the vampire then smiled “my name is Triage, by the way.” She said, Vlad nodded “it’s nice to meet you” the Halfling said, putting on a small smile. Green eyes then darted around, as if the vampire in front of him wanted to tell a secret. “Why come here? You know most of these vampires are willing to take revenge, even if it turns out your innocent.” “Because, I respected D’Ablo, crazy or not.” Vlad whispered “and I want to leave a sign of peace, something I couldn’t do before.” Vlad looked back at the vampire, her bright green eyes focused on him “understandable.” She said, Vlad watched her pull a packet of cigarettes from her shirt, “mind me asking how you knew D’Ablo?” Triage smiled with the cylinder of tobacco between her lips “I worked for him, I’m the head of the Cleanup Department.” She said, Vlad saw the flick of a lighter and the smell of tobacco hit the air. Vlad stepped back, mostly to avoid the smell and to avoid the scent getting on his clothing. If there was anything Nelly had forbidden more than drinking, it was tobacco. “Cleanup Department?” Vlad asked “yes, we clean up messes like murders, suicides, executions, and parties.” She said the last option with a small smile “honestly, no one could make a messier execution than D’Ablo. He certainly took his time and had his fun with quite a few of them.” She said, but then all enjoyment seemed to fade from her face. “but none can compare to what I had to clean up and gather together when they found him.” the flams of the pyre flickered and danced, causing an orange glow to cover them. “I’ve seen vampires ripped apart, limb from bloody limb, but nothing hurts more than to clean up the scene of your own son’s murder.”

Vlad felt his heart clinch in his chest, ‘son’ Vlad looked back at the wrapped remains and the fire. “are you-” Vlad found himself choking a bit on his tears “are you his sire?” the vampire nodded “yep, I turned both him and his brother, taught them everything I knew and made sure they understood Elysian law.” Vlad blinked away his tears “I’m so sorry, I never even thought about the fact he had a sire.” Vlad said softly “or a brother…” Vlad looked around, wondering if he’d now have to worry about a vengeful sibling. “is he here?” Vlad asked, the vampire dropped her cigarette to the ground and stomped on it “who? D’Ablo’s brother?” Vlad nodded, the blue haired vampire looked up and around. “I don’t think so, I think you would have noticed him if he was.” She smiled “really? Why is that?” Vlad saw a redhead woman walk into the center of the clearing and begin speaking, “well, for one; he likes to dress mostly-if not entirely- in red clothing, a lot like D’Ablo’s penchant for black. Second of all, their brotherhood, goes a lot deeper than just my sire-ship.” She said “they are-” the vampire paused before rephrasing her sentence “were twins, they look nearly identical.” Vlad smiled “yeah, I guess I would have noticed a second D’Ablo running around.” Vlad said, Triage nodded.

Vlad looked back at the pyre, it seemed the other vampires were now talking about their fallen comrade, their leader and guidance in the council. Vlad felt a knot form in his stomach, what was he to say to the vampires around him? “What do I say that won’t make them angry?” Vlad whispered “you’re here on peaceful intentions, right?” Vlad nodded, “then use that as a basis, you didn’t know D’Ablo as well as many of us, but that doesn’t diminish what respect you seem to have for him.” Vlad swallowed hard and looked around him, listening as vampires recalled the life Vlad had hardly known. They spoke of times Vlad had never expect D’Ablo, as he knew him, to be a part of, Vlad looked back at the female Vampire, “if you’re going to present that wreath of flowers, give it to Emily.” Vlad blinked, turning his head to face a blond haired vampire behind him. His eyes were the color of amber and his mouth curved into a knowing smile. “Emily?” Vlad whispered the question, he gestured to the redhead standing next to the pyre. Vlad pleaded silently to whatever forces that be, that he wasn’t about to walk up and hand a wreath of flowers and apologize to a widowed woman. Vampire or not, it left a bad taste in his mouth. “She became D’Ablo’s vice president after Tomas left.” The green eyed vampire beside him said. “Oh” Vlad found himself relaxing a bit. That made the situation a bit less awkward, but he still had to worry if she’d try to exact vengeance on him the moment he stepped forward to speak.

Vlad took in a deep breath and stepped forward past a few vampires. The last vampire had just finished a story of a hunt he’d been on with D’Ablo, it had been a rather gruesome tail. Something Vlad had come to expect from older Elysian Vampires. “I would like to speak, if that’s ok.” His voice was a bit shaking, but Vlad made himself pour as much confedance into his words as he could. “Say what you please, young one.” The vampire named Emily said, her eyes showed amusement and curiosity. Vlad wondered to himself if she was a younger vampire than the rest. “I didn’t know D’Ablo as well as the rest of you, I didn’t have to experiences and events that you had. Most, if not all, of my interactions were less than favorable.” Vlad swallowed, every vampire in the clearing had their eyes on him. “But the things D’Ablo did to me, to my friend, and my uncle are in the past.” Vlad started taking a few steps forward, stopped a few feet away from the vice president, who didn’t take her eyes off of him. “And if D’Ablo was here, I’d tell him that I don’t hold any of this against him, and that I wanted to end our feud with kindness.” Vlad took in another deep breath and pushed the tears back “not like this, not with death. Good or bad, I respected him as a person, as a vampire, as a friend of my father.” Vlad held up the wreath of flowers “and I wanted to offer this, as a symbol of peace and friendship.” A pair of emerald green eyes looked down at the wreath of flowers. “Thank you, young one.” She said with a smile, pale hands reaching out and taking the floral wreath from Vlad. “I know your interactions with our council president have been less than favorable, and you showed a lot of bravery and care to come speak about a vampire who wanted your death more than he wanted blood.” Vlad didn’t say anything, he knew she was right. The young Halfling then turned to face to fire.

Closing his eyes and sighing, Vlad found his voice; though it was nothing more than a whisper. “I’m sorry that this is the way things turned out, D’Ablo. If you can hear me, know that I wanted to find a way to make things better.” Vlad chewed his bottom lip “maybe I am a bit at fault for your death, maybe I’m just over thinking the way life gets tangled around us.” Vlad looked down at the mark on his wrist, a mark that claimed him as an Elysian, no matter what other vampires thought about the situation that had brought him into the world. “I can’t turn back the clock, I can’t change what’s happened or take away the pain your friends and followers feel.” Vlad smiled “but know that I’m not going to live my life filled with hate for you, for Ignatius or Jasik. I’ve forgiven you, regardless of if you’d change your mind or forgive my wrongs against you.” Vlad backed away from the pyre “I hope you find peace in whatever lies beyond this life.” Vlad said, before he could walk away though, the red head put her hand up. A signal for the Halfling to stop, Vlad did. His face betraying his confusion. “Would you like to be the one to deliver your gift to our fallen comrade?” she spoke, her voice calm, yet a bit bemused. “Deliver the gift?” Vlad asked, he noticed a few vampires had also stepped from the crow, two of which had picked up D’Ablo’s remains and placed them on the burning alter of wood. “Place it in the fire to send as an offering, Vladimir.” The vice president said, Vlad nodded and looked back at the fire. With a deep breath for confedance, Vlad took back the wreath of flowers and slowly approached the pyre again, with slow and gentle movements; he placed the wreath in the flames. Though they licked his hands, the pain was short lived as he pulled back. Even in a slightly weakened state from withholding from blood during the mourning period, his body still healed up quick enough. Vlad stood there, watching the flowers wither and burn, and the black ribbon igniting within the scorching flames. Vlad found tears rolling down his face, tears that even his uncle would consider D’Ablo undeserving of, but Vlad thought different. Even D’Ablo deserved to be mourned, to be missed and remembered. And to be forgiven…

 

* * *

 

Vlad stood there for what felt like days, in all actuality it was only an hour at most. His onyx eyes watching the funeral pyre, many of the vampires had already gone. The few that stayed seemed to be talking amongst each other, though Vlad knew they would be leaving soon. The threat of a summer storm was heavy in the air, Vlad sighed and turned. His gaze meeting that of D’Ablo’s sire “do you want someone to walk with you?” she asked, Vlad shook his head “no, I think I’ll be fine on my own.” The Halfling said and started for the path, his mind occupied with thoughts. Some of which focused on what he’d tell Otis and Nelly when he got home. It was undoubtedly way past curfew in Bathery and Nelly would have noticed his absence by this point. He had lied and told them he’d be going to the crypt for the night, which was a big lie. He didn’t want to go anywhere near there, not after leaving snow like he did. Vlad let out a sigh as he stopped at a split in the path. His mind quickly recalled the proper direction and he started walking again. His footsteps traveling quietly amounts the trees and shrubbery. Vlad stuffed his hands in his pockets, feeling his cellphone. The Halfling remembered he’d turned it off and blocked his mind, both for privacy and the feeling of respect. Though he knew Otis and Vikas would be concerned with their inability to contact him for a few short hours, Vlad wanted to respect D’Ablo and the other vampires. A slow rumble of thunder sounded off over head, the night sky was almost pitch black with the over cast and lack of the moon. Vlad’s mind flitted back to the vampire, Ignatius. His grandfather and the sire of his uncle and father. The man the council had sent to ‘bring’ him to them so that he could face justice. Vlad sighed, remembering that Otis had ripped the vampire nearly to shreds, all to protect Vlad. The Halfling placed a hand over his heart and found himself recalling Jasik. The vampire thief that had bitten him and stolen his blood for D’Ablo and the Lucis as well back in his freshman year of high school. The vampire that he’d sent to his death in the Stokerton council building. Vlad felt more tears streaming down his face, the Halfling reached up and whipped them away. He promised himself that before his execution at the end of the year, he’d try to find their funeral sites and apologize as well.

“Why do you cry, young one?” a voice asked, Vlad stopped. His heart skipping a beat and then started pounding against his ribcage. ‘Young one’ was a term he’d rarely heard outside of Elysia. It was a phrase much older vampires tended to use to address younger ones. He began to worry he’d been followed from the funeral. He feared a friend or follower of D’Ablo wanted to exact revenge for the fallen vampire. “Yeah, I just came for a memorial service for someone I knew.” Vlad said, footsteps approached from behind him “must have been someone special, with the way you seem to be crying.” Vlad whipped his eyes again “not really, we weren’t exactly the best of friends, if you know what I mean.” Vlad said, a hand gently landed on his shoulder. It was pale, really pale. Vlad wondered if the person was a vampire, he reached out with his blood. But he couldn’t find anyone in the nearby area, Vlad tensed and turned. The shadows of the night seemed to be purposely hiding the man’s face from view, “and you wish you were able to repair the broken bonds before their death?” the man asked, Vlad nodded “yeah, there was a lot to fix, but I wish I could have. Maybe he’d still be alive if I had been able to get through to him.” Vlad said, his head down and staring at the ground below him. “You should not dwell on the past and blame yourself, young one.” The hand moved from his shoulder to the top of his head, there it softly ruffled the black locks of hair before moving to whip more of Vlad’s tears away. “Fate is cruel and unkind, and destiny unfair and harsh, but there is always something beyond their cruelty and darkness.” Vlad smiled “I guess so, I just wish things didn’t turn out this way though, my mom always tried to tell me to believe in the good of people, no matter what. Sometimes I wanted to do that, sometimes I just couldn’t believe her words.” The man chuckled “do you believe this person could have held even a small bit of good in their heart?” he asked “yes I do, I think I saw it a few times before. Maybe with time, it could have gotten better.” Vlad reached up and whipped more of the tears from his eyes.

Another rumble of thunder sounded off in the sky above them. The man let out a sigh and Vlad noticed him shrugging off a long coat. “This storm won’t hold off much longer, you’re going to need this.” He then extended his arm, holding the coat out for Vlad to take. The Halfling looked at the man, confused and slightly paranoid. Who just comes up to a random stranger in the woods -in the middle of the night mind you- has a conversation with them and then offers them their coat? Vlad looked around, hoping that he wasn’t being lured into a trap “no, I can’t” he shook his head, “I’ll be fine getting a little bit wet before reaching one of the nearby restaurants.” Vlad said. The man cocked his head to the side “please, take it, I do not need this where I am going. And I trust you to take good care of it in my absence.” The man said.

Vlad blinked “but, you don’t even know me. How do you know I would do that?” Vlad asked. Though his face was still shrouded in shadow, Vlad knew the man must be smiling. “I do know you, I know you more than you think I do.” He said, his voice never leaving the realm of calm and collected. Vlad blinked as the man wrapped his coat around the teen’s shoulders “get home safely and have a pleasant evening.” He said, Vlad watched the man walk past him. The first few drops of rain started to fall as Vlad watched the man. “You too, sir.” Vlad spoke up, the man paused a few feet away and turned to face Vlad again. Vlad tugged the black fabric closer, noticing something familiar about the way the coat felt and looked. “One more thing.” The man said, Vlad listened closely. “Thank you for coming tonight and thank you bringing those flowers, Master Pravus.” It was at that moment a bright flash of lightning illuminated the forest around them. Vlad felt his blood run cold as the face in front of him was revealed for less than a second. But that was all he need to know who was standing in front of him. Even in the warm summer weather, Vlad had begun to shake, he knew that face, those steel grey eyes and that smile all too well. Vlad took a step forward as the sky let loose a torrent of water. The Halfling’s line of sight was now restricted to only a yards at most. The man then turned and continued walking, the rain not even so much as touching him as he walked away from Vlad and into the darkness of night. Without a second thought, Vlad darted after him, running through the rain trying to find the man. It was to no avail however, the man had vanished into the storm, not even a trace remained for Vlad to find. The young Halfling felt his legs go numb as he mulled the situation over. It was impossible, Em herself had come claiming his death. Vlad watched them place his remains into the funeral pyre and then he himself placed the wreath of flowers on what remained of the vampire’s chest.

Vlad tugged the coat over himself tighter, willing himself to believe it had been a trick of the mind. There was no way D’Ablo had just been standing in front of him. He couldn’t have! Vlad shook, “but if it was just my mind…” Vlad whispered, his fingers now desperately grasping the coat “how can I still have this?” Vlad looked up at the sky, rain poured down. Soaking his hair and face, was he going mad? Had D’Ablo truly faked his own death and decided to run off from the rest of Elysia, only stopping to mess with Vlad once more? Or had Vlad really seen and conversed with the spirit of the dead vampire? “Vladimir?!” a familiar voice cut through the storm, it brought warmth and comfort to the boy, but only slightly. Vlad looked back to the path ahead, light from a flashlight broke through the downpour. Otis… Vlad smiled, his disappearance had defiantly been noticed. The Halfling smiled as Otis came into view, the vampire wore a worried expression on his face. The mythology teacher stopped a few feet short of his nephew “oh thank goodness I found you” he said, his breathing slightly rushed and strained. “Nelly called, she said you hadn’t come home from Stokerton when you were supposed to.” Vlad sighed, he’d have a lot to make up for after tonight. “Yeah, sorry about that.” He turned and looked back down the forest path behind him. “I couldn’t reach your phone or your telepathy, I feared something had happened.” Vlad looked back at his uncle, who had stepped closer, a large umbrella shielding them from the cold rain. Vlad looked at his uncle, the worried look on his face was undeniable. Vlad would tell him the truth tonight, as much as he could bear to tell the man who had become like a father to him. “Why are you all the way out here?” he then asked “I was attending a funeral” Vlad said, his voice soft “that’s why my phone is off and my mind closed.”

Otis put an arm around his nephew’s shoulders. “A funeral? Who’s funeral could be all the way ou-” the vampire paused, Vlad didn’t have to say it Otis was already putting it together. Vlad waited for the blond to speak, when he did Vlad could almost see the hatred and distaste “D’Ablo” Vlad nodded, “Vladimir, are you crazy, you could have been killed by anyone of the vampires there.” There it was, the lecture voice, Vlad honestly didn’t want to deal with that right now. “I know Otis, but it was something I felt obligated to do.” Vlad said, moving closer to his uncle. “I needed to forgive him Otis, I can’t spend the rest of my life –however short it may be- carrying around this hatred.” Vlad’s onyx eyes looked up at his uncle “and neither should you or Vikas, I know things have been bad, but we all need to move on. I need to move on and I need to do better.” Vlad said, he felt his uncle’s grip tighten for a moment before moving to comfortingly rub Vlad’s back. The Halfling smiled, his gaze momentarily returning to the sky above. Otis followed his gaze as a flash of lightning split the sky and a blast of thunder shook the earth. The vampire sighed and shook his head. “We’ll talk about this later, this storm’s only going to get worse and nelly’s worried sick about you.” Vlad smiled “let’s go home then, it’s been a strange night for me, Otis.” Vlad said softly. The two began walking through the down pour “strange? How so?” Vlad smiled at his uncle’s question. He then pursed his lips and then gave one of his own “Uncle, do you believe in ghosts?” Vlad asked, his hands still grasping the coat around him. “No, not really, why do you ask?” Vlad looked into his uncle’s blue eyes “when we get home, I’ve got quite the memory to share with you.”

 


End file.
